The Taste of Words: An Introduction to Urdu Poetry (24 page)

Asif Raza

 
1.
  This sher is from Asif Raza’s poem ‘
Amreeka
’
,
and includes a reference to the legend of Prometheus, who was of course condemned for stealing the gods’ fire.

Iftikhar Arif

 
1.
  Both poems have been performed by well-known artistes. The first qaseeda has been performed by Ali Haidar, and the second is a poem sung by Noorjehan; both performances can be viewed on YouTube.

S.M. Shahed

 
1.
  See: ‘UrduShahkar,’
http://urdushahkar.org/
. The site also contains audio files of Shahed reciting his poems, including the one I have translated here. For his recitation of ‘
Fikr
’, see ‘Shahed: UrduShahkar,’
http://urdushahkar.org/category/khudkalami/shahed/
.

Javed Akhtar

 
1.
  Javed Akhtar,
Quiver
, translated by David Matthews (London: HarperCollins, 2001). Javed Akhtar’s website, ‘Javed Akhtar: Film Writer, Lyricist, Poet,’
http://javedakhtar.com
, is a great source of information and poetry about him. One must also recommend Nasreen Munni Kabeer’s two books on him titled
Talking Films: Conversations on Hindi Cinema with Javed Akhtar
(New Delhi and New York: Oxford University Press, 1999), and especially
Talking Songs: Javed Akhtar in Conversation with Nasreen Munni Kabeer and Sixty Selected Songs
(New Delhi, Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 2005); the latter has many of Akhtar’s film songs translated and transliterated.

 
2.
  See
www.javedakhtar.com

 
3.
  See ‘Javed Akhtar’s Quiver of Progressive Arrows: A Legacy Survives,’
in
Anthems of Resistance
, 174–199, for an analysis of the non-film poetry, and chapters 6 and 7 for discussions of film lyrics.

 
4.
  The poet uses a pun, where ‘
usool
’ can mean ‘rule’, but also connotes a sense of fairness and justice. The implied line is: ‘if this is the rule, where is the justice?’

 
5.
  Another subtle pun—the term ‘
khel kya hai
’, in regular usage, implies ‘what is really going on?’.

Fahmida Riaz

 
1.
  The English translations of her selected poems were published as
Four Walls and a Black Veil
(Karachi: Oxford University Press, 2004); other than poetry, her novella
Godavari
achieved great success, as did her volume of short stories,
Khat-e Marmuz.

 
2.
  It appears in
Anthems of Resistance
[see 208–11. Also see 218–20 for long excerpts of her ‘
Kya Tum Poora Chaand Na Dekhoge?
’ (‘Will You Not See the Full Moon?’)]. Her recent poem ‘
Bhagat Singh ki Moorat
’
is available in Romanized script at ‘Bhagat Singh ki Moorat by Fahmida Riaz,’ Uddari Weblog,
http://uddari.wordpress.com/2008/08/26/bhagat-singh-ki-moort-by-fahmida-riaz/
, with an English translation by Riaz herself. Those wishing to see Riaz perform her own work can do so via YouTube.

Parveen Shakir

 
1.
  Five of her poems appear in competent English translation by Alamgir Hashmi at Cipher Journal,
http://www.cipherjournal.com/html/hashmi.html
. Do also read C.M. Naim’s review article, ‘Parveen Shakir: A Note and Twelve Poems,’
Annual of Urdu Studies
8 (1993),
http://www.urdustudies.com/pdf/08/20shakir.pdf
.

 
2.
  There are several recordings of Parveen Shakir performing her own work, including the ghazal I have translated, that can be accessed on websites like YouTube.

Ishrat Afreen

 
1.
  See the official website of Ishrat Afreen,
http://www.ishratafreen.com/
.

 
2.
  One may read the translation of two of her poems along with a review essay by Nuzhat Abbas: ‘Conversing to/with Shame: Translation and Gender in the Urdu Ghazal,’
Annual of Urdu Studies
14 (1999),
http://www.urdustudies.com/pdf/14/11abbasn.pdf
.

Zeeshan Sahil

 
1.
  
An Evening of Caged Beasts: Seven Postmodernist Urdu Poets
, selected and introduced by Asif Farrukhi and translated by F.W. Pritchett and Asif Farrukhi (Karachi: Oxford University Press, 1999). A selection is available in the
Annual of Urdu Studies
8 (1993),
http://www.urdustudies.com/pdf/08/15evening_caged.pdf
. Other than Sahil, the group comprised Afzal Ahmad Syed, Azra Abbas, Sarwat Hussain, Sara Shagufta, Tanveer Anjum and Saiduddin.

 
2.
  See: Zakintosh, ‘Zeeshan Sahil: Lonely No More!’ Windmills of My Mind,
http://kidvai.blogspot.com/2008/04/evening-with-zeeshan-sahil-was-event.html
. Also, five of Sahil’s poems have been translated by Raza Ali Hasan and Christopher Kennedy for the
Annual of Urdu Studies
21 (2006), and are available at
http://www.urdustudies.com/pdf/21/16Zeeshan.pdf
. I found a very brief audio clip of Sahil’s voice at
http://www.kidvai.com/windmills/Media/ZeeshansWish.mp3
.

I would like to acknowledge gratefully the following for giving me permission to reproduce and translate some of the poems in this book. Gulzar, Javed Akhtar, Jameela Nishat, Ishrat Afreen, Fahmida Riaz, Iftikhar Arif, Asif Raza and S.M. Shahed permitted me to use their own work. In addition, I obtained permission from Fariha and Sambreen Rashed (for N.M. Rashid’s poem); Saba Zaidi (for Mustafa Zaidi’s poems); Tamkeen Khateeb (for Sulaiman Khateeb’s poem); Shabana Azmi (for Kaifi Azmi’s poems); Javed Akhtar (for Jan Nisar Akhtar’s and Majaz’s poems); Ali Nazim Jafri (for Ali Sardar Jafri’s poems); Faridoon Shahryar (for Shahryar’s poems); Ali Madeeh Hashmi and the Faiz Foundation (for Faiz’s poems); Syed Abid Raza (for Zeeshan Sa
hil’s poems); Parveen Qadir Agha, the Perveen Shakir Trust and Murad Publications (for Parveen Shakir’s poem); Shibli and Saadi Faraz (for Ahmed Faraz’s poems); and Andalib Sultanpuri (for Majrooh’s poems).

While every possible effort has been made to contact the heirs of deceased poets, it has not been possible in all cases; I would be happy to include and acknowledge the heirs of any missed poets in future editions.